


follow you into the dark

by formotherliberty



Category: Borderlands (Video Games)
Genre: BL3 Spoilers, Canon Compliant, Established Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Other, takes place during the atlas at last mission
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-02
Updated: 2019-11-02
Packaged: 2021-01-20 15:47:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21284192
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/formotherliberty/pseuds/formotherliberty
Summary: Rhys had learned the hard way on Pandora that not everything in life was guaranteed; even his demotion back on Helios was clue enough of that. With Zer0, however, their relationship with each other had grown into that exactly - a guarantee that no matter what happened in this fucked up galaxy, no matter the dangers and risks and time spent apart and shady businessmen from rivaling companies that tried to acquire what you had rebuilt from the ground up, they would be there for each other, always.Looking up at the blade headed directly for his skull, Rhys tried to think back and pinpoint exactly when that guarantee had stopped being reciprocated.
Relationships: Rhys/Zer0 (Borderlands)
Comments: 12
Kudos: 203





	follow you into the dark

**Author's Note:**

> enjoy!

“Soldier, don’t you _ dare _ use your last words to slander Zer0! Say you’re being murdered by someone else!”

…

Rhys refused to believe it. He _ knew _ Zer0.

It had started back during that day several years ago - almost an entire lifetime away at this point - when he and Sasha were about to be eaten by that pack of feral skags. Rhys remembers knowing that they were as good as gone, the two of them; Sasha’s gun and his lousy stun baton no match for the caged animals, now released and hungry for fresh meat.

He remembers the way Zer0 had appeared seemingly out of nowhere, their gleaming sword buried deep in the gut of the closest skag, covered in blood and looking every bit the glamorous Vault Hunter the stories had described them to be; even up on Helios the tales of their escapades had reached the ears of all around him, and when listening to these stories, all he could think was _ how cool, to be a Vault Hunter _.

That was the start of them, together; the first planting of the seed of their relationship. It grew and grew as he and Zer0 got to know each other more and more; the time they spent together when working with everyone to defeat The Traveler; the times they had run into each other when Rhys would make trips back down to Pandora to visit his old friends, taking a few days of rest at a time from the daunting responsibility of rebuilding an entire company from scratch to simply relax with those whom he trusted.

And that was exactly what Zer0 had become to him - a person he could trust; so much so that once he had finally gotten Atlas up and running - re-branded and ready to make its mark on the galaxy - he had asked Zer0 if they would come to work for him, as his _ top agent _ as he had described it; carrying out covert missions when need be at his request. Zer0 had made a show of thinking it over, displaying a variety of question marks and thinking emoticons on their helmet, before playfully displaying - **:P** \- on it and replying _ I would be honored, to have your trust and support. I won’t let you down. _

That was years ago, and their trust and knowledge of each other had only steadily increased since then. That’s why Rhys was confident in assuming that he _ knew _ Zer0, knew them as much as you could know a person who wasn’t your own self.

That’s why, as the Vault Hunters made their way to his headquarters to retrieve the Vault Key fragment; as Rhys kept getting ECHO transmissions from his Atlas soldiers detailing the way in which their fellow men - _ his _ men - were dropping dead due to a suspicious-looking, sword-wielding being; as Katagawa ceaselessly paraded on and on about how _ Your best bud Zer0’s stabbed you in the back! How’s it feel, Rhys? _ \- his brain refused to let him latch onto the implications of these accusations. He hated the way it almost felt like _ he _ was being blamed for Zer0’s betrayal; for not being able to see that trusting a Vault Hunter would only and always lead to this, except it wasn’t a betrayal, it _ couldn’t _ be, because he _ knew _ Zer0; knew them as someone who - once you earned their trust - was loyal to a fault; as someone who never in a million years would take up with the likes of a person as underhanded as Katagawa was, no matter if Katagawa had paid them even _ triple _ the amount that Rhys pays them now. Rhys knew them like he knew the inner workings of his cybernetics he had so carefully built and put together years and years ago, now an intricate part of himself.

There was also the more… _ intimate _ details Rhys knew about Zer0. He knew their favorite radio station that they liked to listen to whenever they hung around his office while he did work, Zer0 over on the couch either catching up on missed sleep or reading one of the new books Rhys had recently bought, content to just be around each other in a shared and comfortable silence; he knew how Zer0 would disappear into the kitchen to wash their weapons immediately after every mission, as to keep them in pristine condition and not let the blood and dirt build up, but never first without seeking out Rhys to give him an _ I’m back _ kiss on his forehead, knowing that Rhys wouldn’t mind the smell and grime that was still all over them; he knew how Zer0 never stretched upon waking in the morning, instead just sitting straight up, like he imagines a zombie would; while Rhys began his five minute wake up stretches next to him on their bed.

He knew all of this, which is exactly why he was convinced that his soldiers were lying to him, possibly even hallucinating. Katagawa had played every dirty trick in the book at this point, from poisoning all of his siblings to striking a deal with the Calypso twins; Rhys didn’t doubt that whatever or whoever was out there decimating his troops, apparently sporting the likes of Zer0, was just another one of Katagawa’s stratagems.

Rhys snapped out of his thoughts when he heard one of the Vault Hunters’ voices come through his ECHO. He was prepared to go on another spiel in Zer0’s defense, go on about how _ Zer0 would never betray me, how could you even suggest that? _ when he realized that the Vault Hunter was informing him that they had reached the defense cannons.

“The turrets are dead! Do you have a backup plan?” came their voice, distant sounding even though they were shouting to be heard over the gunfire and explosions Rhys could hear in the background.

_ Crap _ . This wasn’t what he needed right now. Mind too preoccupied with _ where the hell is Zer0, and why aren’t they picking up their ECHO, _ Rhys tried to think. Those turrets were essential in getting the Maliwan forces to get the hell out of his city, which would then in turn let the Vault Hunters be able to reach his office quicker and let him get rid of that damn Vault Key fragment, which was turning out to be the cause of this entire mess; the reason he couldn’t get Zer0 to answer his calls so he could ask them _ Where the hell are you I could really use your help right now and also there’s someone here masquerading around as you killing all of my soldiers, please hurry back. _

Head lowering, shoulders raising, Rhys let out a noise that was mostly air.

Suddenly, his head shot up, looking at no one. “Th- The Viper Drive!” he remembered, yelling to his ECHO so that the Vault Hunters would be able to hear him. “We left it in the orbital laser, right? Uh, maybe it’s got enough juice left to take out that command ship!”

He didn’t actually know whether or not this would work, but - quite literally - he had no other options. Moving to sit at his desk, Rhys logged onto his computer and brought up the terminal. Acutely aware of the Vault Hunters still struggling to hold back the Maliwan forces, if the sounds of gunfire and grunting coming through his ECHO were anything to go by, he quickly connected to the drive. The words _ ENTER PASSWORD _ greeted him on the screen.

_ Shit. _ He had set a password on this thing?

It took him three tries to remember his favorite frogurt flavor, the names of all the ones he’s had before blending together. While it was indeed his favorite dessert, the reason was less because of the food itself, and more because of his memories associated with it.

Memories of Zer0 insisting on trying every single flavor whenever they went out, only to finally decide on a cup of plain vanilla; of them stealing an entire tub of Zingberry Crunch for him that one time when he was sick and dying and _ Please Zer0, I will literally pass away right now if I don’t have my frogurt; _ of Zer0 teasing Rhys for that one time when he ordered the _ Chocolate Dill Pickle? Thank God I can’t smell that. No kissing tonight _ \- which tasted way better than it sounded - and how he’d spent the better part of that date trying - and failing - to shove his spoon in front of Zer0’s helmet and force them to taste it, but of course only succeeded in smearing the dessert all over their visor, and the way that they had both been asked to _ please leave the premises, they were making a mess and their noisy laughter was starting to disrupt the other customers, thank you _.

It was because of these memories that forgurt was favorable to him at all.

When he finally entered the correct password, he was rewarded with the sight of the words _ CHARGING IN PROGRESS _. After a few moments, the sound of the laser firing could be heard from all across the planet.

Blowing up the Maliwan command ship gave Rhys the same feeling of triumph that defeating The Traveler had given him. He couldn’t help the tear that managed to escape his eye, happy to just have been able to _ do something _ about the multiple elements of chaos going on around him.

“Oh, wow! I am legitimately crying. Thank you, thank you, Vault Hunters!” He could hear them faintly through his ECHO, cheering as they picked off the few remaining troopers.

His elation didn’t last long, however. Katagawa’s voice cut through his ECHO, drowning out the Vault Hunters. He spoke low with an extra gravel to his voice, pushing out his words, and from the uneven rise in volume on some of the words, Rhys guessed that Katagawa had his own ECHO pushed up right against his mouth.

“Oh, don’t worry about Zer0, Rhys. They’ll find _ you _.”

Spoken by anyone else, those would’ve been words of comfort to Rhys. Instead his head whipped about his office, shoulders tensing, and Rhys realized, with a sick feeling in his stomach, that Katagawa’s words had, however briefly and short-lived, spiked fear in him - _ fear of Zer0 _.

Zer0, who always took great care to not awaken Rhys if they happened to return home from a mission late at night, when he was already asleep in their bed; Zer0, who would begin recalling to him the entertaining highlights from old _ Bunkers & Badasses _ campaigns they had played years ago with old friends whenever Rhys was in a sour mood - from the stress of being CEO to a multi-billion dollar company, to Katagawa’s increasingly belligerent attempts at securing said company, to having overheard one of his soldiers tell another just exactly what they thought of his newly grown mustache - in an attempt to cheer him up and make him laugh; Zer0, who had first met Rhys by saving his life, and then joined him in saving Pandora, and then joined him in sharing a life together. He knew he would do anything, _ anything _ , that he could, his own physical limitations be damned, that Zer0 asked of him, as he knew Zer0 would do for him - as they _ had _ done for him.

Rhys hated himself for, even briefly, acknowledging the insinuations in Katagawa’s threat.

“Your mind games won’t work, Katagawa!” he replied, if only to distract himself from his thoughts. “Zer0’s on _ my _ side.” 

Rhys hoped that the insistence with which he spoke these words, the disconnect from their meaning and the reality of what had been happening out in the courtyard all this time, wasn’t evident to those listening. He hoped no one could tell that as he spoke those words, words that any other time would be plain-as-day fact, he was in part doing so in order to convince _ himself _ of their truth.

Before he could feel guilty again, the door to Rhys’s office suddenly shot open. He startled at his desk, expecting Maliwan troops despite having just stopped their advance, when he recognized the silhouette of the person who had just entered.

All it took was one look at Zer0 for any seeds of doubt Rhys may have had planted in him about them to be dispelled. He didn’t register the changes in their usual suit, the clashing of the yellow and green colors fading to the back of his mind; all Rhys could think was that _ they’re here, they’re back, they always come back and Katagawa doesn’t know what the hell he’s talking about. _

“Zer0! You’re back!”

He hadn’t meant to yell, but the relief he felt was practically bursting out of him, leaving his body through his mouth and forming around him the haze that obstructed him from properly analyzing the situation. He shot up from his chair, releasing his shoulders from the tense, locked up position that they had previously been in, and nearly tripped over himself as he hurried to greet Zer0.

“Oh thank God you’re back! Zer0, everyone has _ completely _ lost their minds out there; the Vault Hunters are on their way for the key fragment before Katagawa gets it first-”

_ The key fragment _. Rhys had almost forgotten about it in his hurry to suppress the Maliwan troops. He glanced back at his desk, seeing that it was still on the corner of his desk where he had placed it earlier. Returning to face Zer0, he watched as they stepped forward to meet him, sheathing their sword onto their back as they moved.

Or, he had assumed they were sheathing the sword; Zer0 had been moving their arm back in an arc above their head and towards their back, sword in grip. What made him second guess himself was when their arm stopped, several inches still from the sheath on the back of their suit, and then continued moving, only now they were bringing their arm _ towards _ Rhys, and they were still holding the sword, and Rhys didn’t know if Zer0 didn’t realize that they were still holding the sword or if this was some ritual from Zer0’s home-world that they were intending to perform and if it was a ritual then _ why was the sword moving faster now and why are they gripping it with both hands- _

It was instinct rather than decision that made him lunge out of the way, Zer0’s sword colliding with the air where he had just been.

“Zer0, uh, what are you doing?!” He tried to play it cool, casual, as if this was just some weird, backwards way of messing around Zer0 was doing, and not an attempt to cut clean through his head.

Instead of answering, Zer0 turned on their heel and began to move towards him again, sword now extended in front of them like a guiding beacon, leading the way to Rhys’s imminent misfortune.

Fear now back, this time in full blow, Rhys ran over to his desk and flipped the switch for his secret passage that led into the plaza below. Remembering to grab the Vault Key fragment and taking one last look back at Zer0 - his most trusted friend, who was quickly closing the gap between him and their sword - he jumped down into the chute.

There had to be an explanation for this, Rhys thought as he fell; maybe it was some long, elaborate, well thought out joke by Katagawa in order to make him look like a fool caught with his pants down. It had to be fake, set up, _ whatever _ , but it most definitely was not real - _ could not be real _ \- because if it was, then it meant that Zer0, who had blushed cutely and muttered something about _ formal conventions _ as they took the keys Rhys had offered them - keys to his apartment; Zer0, who had sat with Rhys during all of the times when his artificial arm was causing him pain, soothing him and doing anything that they could to ease his aches; Zer0, who, when they lay tangled together at night in bed, would whisper to Rhys - these quiet nights bringing out the softness in both of them - confessions of how _ It is hard to think, how I have lived without this. Your love is a home. _

It meant that _ that _ Zer0 was the same as the one currently trying to kill him.

He landed on the concrete below. Vault Key fragment in hand, he began to run, but he didn’t have quite the control over his body that he thought he did and ended up tripping over his feet, unable to catch himself as he collided roughly with the ground.

His eyes caught the movement of Zer0, who had just emerged from the chute, and immediately locked in on the green glow of the sword, solidifying and making even more real its presence. The sword which his eyes followed the sway of - _ back and forth and back and forth _ \- as Zer0 stalked over and closed in on him.

Rhys had learned the hard way on Pandora that not everything in life was guaranteed; even his demotion back on Helios was clue enough of that. With Zer0, however, their relationship with each other had grown into that exactly - a guarantee that no matter what happened in this fucked up galaxy, no matter the dangers and risks and time spent apart and shady businessmen from rivaling companies that tried to acquire what you had rebuilt from the ground up, they would be there for each other, always. 

Looking up at the blade headed directly for his skull, Rhys tried to think back and pinpoint exactly when that guarantee had stopped being reciprocated.

He shielded his face with an arm, deciding to close his eyes for the final blow. Another thing he knew about Zer0: they were very, _ very _ good at their job. He took some comfort, small and sour-coated as it was, in knowing that it would at least be over quick.

A loud _ clang! _ made him flinch, but, contrary to what he was expecting, he felt no pain. His eyes shot open and beyond his arm, still raised defensively, Rhys saw that Zer0’s sword was stopped midair.

Not just stopped, but _ blocked _. By a very, very similar looking sword being wielded by a very, very similar looking being.

It was only now, with the two of them side-by-side, that Rhys spotted the abnormalities of his attacker’s suit. The ugly yellow and green, previously overlooked by him, now stood out blaringly; Rhys’s mind immediately thought of a dart frog, whose bright and alluring exterior was only indicative of a hidden deadliness.

The one who had stopped them, Rhys immediately recognized as Zer0 - but this time it was _ his Zer0 _ . He watched, too overwhelmed to move, as the two lunged at each other, the swing from their swords creating a whistle that overtook his ears; his eyes unable to stray anywhere except for the cool, comforting, _ familiar _ gray of Zer0’s suit.

It was only when he noticed an object flying away from the pair that Rhys turned his head. It was the attacker’s helmet, the telltale Maliwan logo -** M** \- emblazoned across the visor. His eyes followed its arc as it sailed through the air, then clattered to the ground. Still too caught up in the absurdity of what was happening, Rhys didn’t even think to look over at his de-masked attacker until a chilling voice rang out from them; a voice that had been a constant annoyance for the past several months, and that he was immediately able to discern.

He supposed it made sense, really, this turn of events. For the past few months since Katagawa had been made Head of Maliwan Mergers and Acquisitions, he had been trying and trying and trying to do just that - acquire and merge Atlas into his company. At first he had been amicable about the situation, inviting Rhys out to fancy dinners with him to try and gain his friendship, sweet-talking him by saying things such as _ Having you in the family, Rhys, could turn Maliwan into a universal monopoly! _ and other ridiculous, embellished promises he knew Katagawa wouldn’t keep.

After their very first meeting together, Katagawa not even trying to be discreet about his true motivations, Rhys had gone to Zer0 to tell them of his worries. They listened quietly as he went on and on about _ That damn grease-ball, how stupid does he think I am, no way in HELL am I just going to hand over everything we’ve worked for here, all that I’ve built from the fucking GROUND, and I bet you Katagawa’s never had to work for a DAMN thing in his life, fifty bucks says that his father played nepostism and got him that job and that’s why he can’t understand why I would never just hand over what I had to WORK for - _listened until he finally ran out of breath and collapsed on the couch in their living room, hands coming up to rub at his temples.

Zer0 had sat down on the couch with him, lifting Rhys’s legs out of the way and then placing them onto their lap. He remembers the pause Zer0 had taken, most likely still trying to process the five minute rant he had gone on; remembers the jolt of unexpected laughter that escaped him, the way it was like a switch being thrown at how quickly the built up tension from his body seemed to evaporate, when Zer0 finally replied, made even more hilarious by the monotone filter from their helmet: _ Well, that guy’s a douche. Next time he takes you out, though - bring me back a burger? _

After that first time, Rhys slowly began to decline Katagawa’s invitations out more and more, until the only way that he was able to contact him at all was through the ECHOnet.

Seeing Katagawa like this now, half crazed and poised to kill, he realized that he never should’ve accepted that initial invitation that had been extended to him.

“You should have joined the family, Rhys.”

Katagawa spat those words at him, and the way in which he spoke, composed upon first listen but barely holding back the anger and disgust and hatred he felt, instantly curdling the blood of anyone who may have overheard him, reminded Rhys momentarily of Jack.

Out of the corner of his vision, he saw Zer0 move towards him. They held out their hand, extending it to him, not having to ask but instead knowing that it would be met with his own; a guarantee. Not even having to think about it, Rhys grabbed on and held fast.

Zer0 led them, grip tight on his hand the entire time and and sharing with him their temporary cloak, into the storage room of the plaza, underneath his office.

Outside, back where they had just been, he could hear the arrival of the Vault Hunters. Almost immediately, the sounds of gunfire and the whistle of a sword filled in the space as background noise.

He turned to face Zer0, Vault Key fragment still in hand.

Rhys had to be sure. “Zer0? It’s really you, right bud?”

He tried to play it off as a joke, but he heard his voice as he spoke; it belonged to someone very clearly putting on a bravado who didn’t want to reveal just how scared and overwhelmed and _ confused _ they were.

Zer0 answered him by pulling Rhys towards themself and locking their limbs tightly around his torso. He could feel the cool plate of Zer0’s visor pressing into his neck, as they often liked to do whenever they lay together at home, curled up with one another.

Rhys didn’t realize that his body had tensed up again, shoulders locked and muscles twitchy until he had Zer0’s embrace around him. He leaned his head into their chest, drowning out the fighting going on outside and instead focusing on the heartbeat he had come to memorize the rhythm of.

“Thank God you’re alright. Had to wait to attack him, to assure his death.”

Zer0 pulled their face back, displaying a frown - **:(** \- on their helmet to accentuate their words. Then, they unwrapped their arms from Rhys, moving instead to rest their hands on his waist.

Rhys was still trying to work through the whirlwind of emotions that he was feeling: the relief of Zer0 - the _ true _ Zer0 - showing up and saving him; the guilt he felt for ever thinking that Zer0 would bring any harm to him; the realization that he had just nearly been killed, left for dead in the plaza while Katagawa made off with the key fragment and the deed to his company.

Except, there had never been any _ real _ danger, there had never been any _ real _ threat, because Zer0 had been protecting him all along, waiting for the right time to strike Katagawa down, but also waiting for the right time to swoop in and save Rhys if the situation became too dire. He couldn’t help but think back to their very first meeting, and how years and years had passed, yet Zer0 still retained their flair for dramatics.

He thinks he might’ve hit his head during his fall down the chute.

“I can see that now,” he replied, because hindsight truly was twenty-twenty and looking back, knowing _ now _ that Zer0 was Zer0 and Katagawa was a slimy scumbag using him, he supposed that Zer0’s decision to stay low had made sense. “But, holy _ fuck _, I knew that guy was messed up, knew it ever since you recovered that dinner party ECHO, but to think he’d go as far as using you against me…”

Rhys trailed off, shaking his head. Then, while they were still alone, he tipped up on his feet to press a kiss to Zer0’s jaw.

“Thank you, also, for, uh, saving me.”

Zer0 flashed a blush - **/// ///** \- on their helmet, followed by a heart - **<3**.

The Vault Hunters met them in the storage room shortly after, all panting and covered in blood, presumably Katagawa’s. Rhys winced thinking about it.

“Thank you Vault Hunters, for helping me save my love.” Zer0 greeted the group, letting go of Rhys to face them but not moving from his side. “That creep is finished.”

Rhys nearly broke the key fragment - not that it would have been his first time doing so - in his haste to hand it over to the Vault Hunters. He just wanted to be rid of the damn thing; leave behind all of the mess and destruction it seemed to bring in its wake, like a curse.

“You all have earned this, really. Please, now, take it somewhere far away from here where I never, ever have to see it again.”

The Vault Hunters left then, back to Sanctuary III. Zer0 turned to him once they had gone, flashing a smile - **:)** \- as they looked at him.

“Katagawa’s dead. The key fragment is safe now. So… shall we go eat?”

“_ God _ , yes, you read my mind. We do, uh, have to find a new regular frogurt place though, because Katagawa kinda…” Rhys mimed his hand chopping into the side of his neck. “Went _ eeh _ to our usual one.”

“Anywhere is fine. As long as I am with you, I do not care much.”

Rhys hid his reddening face back into Zer0’s chest.

He couldn’t fault them too much for saying that, though; Rhys felt the same way. They had made it this far together, stuck it out side-by-side, one always watching out for the other. Whatever happened in their life, whether it be a corporate battle or a war with the so-called _ Twin Gods _ of the universe; didn’t matter.

It didn’t matter because while nothing in their life was certain - today had proven that well enough - at the same time they were the only certain thing for each other; someone to count on invariably, to fall back on; someone to ground themselves to in order to make it through these chaotic days.

Rhys left the storage room ahead of Zer0, wanting to wash up at his office first. He knew that Zer0 would be waiting for him when he finished; knew that when he suggested to them _ Hey why don’t we try that new skag burger place Lorelei told us about? _ that they might roll their eyes at first, putting up a show of groaning about how _ Skag meat is the worst. Why must you make me suffer? Poison, it tastes like _as they walked out of the door; knew that as Rhys reached for their hand, their teasing would end, and they would squeeze his hand in comfort and run their thumb along his own.

He knew this, because he knew Zer0. He would never again let anyone make him think otherwise.

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading! i just really love zerhys and decided that we need more fics in their tag :)
> 
> twitter: [zerhysrights](https://www.twitter.com/zerhysrights)


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